Bird-aeroplane



J. BALON.

BIRD AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED AuG.I9,192o.

Patented May 1 0, 1921.

SSHEETS-SHEET l.

J. BALON.

BIRD AEROPLANE.

APPLxcATlON mio (115.191920.

Patented May 10, 1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

. fil" J. SALON.

BIRD AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.I9. 1920.

Patented May 10, 1921.

5 SHEETS-fSHEET 3.

.APPLICATION FILED AUGJQ. 1920.

BALON.

39 y, ,liz 2 Patented May 10,1921.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

J. BALON.

BIRD AEROPLANE.

APPLlATloN min AUGAQ, i920.

lave/tor whereby certain sections of the tail are pre-l` .PATENT oFFlcs.'

JOSEPH `:B AITON, STAUN'TON, ILLINOIS.

B'iRD-AEnoPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patentd vBray 10, 1921.

Application led August 19, 1920. Serial No. 404,712.

To all whom t may concern:

' Be it know that I, JOSEPH BALoN, a citin zen of the United States, residing at Staunton, in the county of Macoupin and State of Illinois` have invented certain newA and useful Improvements in Bird-Aeroplanes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings. A iol surface afforded by the A further object of the invention is-toprovide in an aeroplanea newandn'ovel tail construction, the supporting surface of` Adjacent the aviators seaty 16 the longituwh-ich may be variably altered.

A still further ob'ect of the invention is to provide in a tail construction means sented to the air pressure in such amanner as to'depress the rear end of the plane and means for simultaneously reducing the sup' porting surface aifordedlby. the tail in or-der i to further assist in such depression.

Other 'objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent throughout the course of the following description:

In the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown ya skeleton of` an aeroplane constructed in' accordance with a preferred em-` bodiment of ,my invention:

Figure 1 is a side elevation thereof;

' fFig. 2 is'a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation thereof; Fig.'4 is a section on the line 4--4 of Fig.'1;V Y

Fig. 5 isa ksection on the" line of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is adetail sectionalview showing l the operationof the forward elevators;

Fig 7 is a detail sectional view showing the operating mechanism for thewings, and Fig. 8 is a sectional view taken 'through' the forward plane of the forward elevator.

lteferringl now more particularly Vtothe drawings, thenumerals 10 and 11 indicate' supporting axles which support a rectan-V gular lower frame 12 .at the ends thereof. v The axlev 11 is provided with steering wheelsv 13, the direction of whichis controlled byany suitable steering gear apparatus 14 em-4 Vobject of the invention isk to provide an aeroplane of the heavy dutytype having means whereby the supportingy aviators seatdesignated at 16. A rectangular frame 12 has extending upwardly there- 'from at. the corners thereof supports y1"( which support-an upper rectangular frame 18. Between the sides of the lower and upper rectangular frames verticalv braces v19 are likewise employed.. v y

The ,numeral 20 indicates transversely curved wings, each provided with spaced, inwardly extending armsv 21 which are pivotally mounted upon kthe upper rectangular frame 18, as indicated at- 22, (Fig.f4). The inner'adjacent ends of the levers 21 vare pivotally connected-as bylinks 23 to the upper end of vertically extending links 24, the lower ends of which are connected to arms 25 of the pivotally mounted bar -26 which extends longitudinally ofthe-lower frame.

` which are in turn secured to the body of the frame adjacent the lower end thereof. These llink connections effectively prevent undue elevation of the corners 20. lThe planes 2O areaprovided at their'rear or trailing edges with. ailerons 33 operable frornthe aviators seat in the usual manner,as indicatedat 34.

Extending lforwardly from the upper frame'18 lare braces35 which are joined by braces 36 extending forwardly fromV the lower rectangular framel and which support a collar 37 in which is rotatably mounted the drive shaft 38 of tractor propeller 39.

Y At the ,sidesl of the frame-'rotatably mounted in journals -40 carried by the vertical sup-- ports 19 Vare the drive shafts 41 fora pair of auxiliary tractor propellers 42, and rear of the tractor propellers Aand preferably rear ofthe aviators seat vdrive shafts 43 are mounted which bear auxiliary pusherfpropellers 44. The main and :auxiliary tractor propellers are preferably driven by a battery composed of' a plurality of engines evenly distributed in weight about the structure in order that in event of the failure of bodying a wheel lipositioned adjacent the i one engine it will not be necessary to land the machine.

Pivotally mounted intermediate the supports 45 carried by corner members 17 at the forward end of the frame is a transversely extending bar 46 having extending upwardly therefrom and centrally thereof an arm 47 and adjacent the ends thereof relatively shorter arms 48 arrangedupon each side of the arm 47. Pivotally connected to the forward edge of the upper rectangular frame, as at 49, is the rear or trailing edge of an elevator plane 50 of a width approximately equal to the combined widthsof the bodyframe and the wings 20. Pivotally connected to the forward edge of the elevator plane 50 is an auxiliary elevator plane 51. Links 52 connect the short y arms 48 of the bar 46 and the under surface the under surface of the auxiliary.' elevator 62 engaging the under surface of the secplane '51. To this link 53 is pivotally connectedthe forward end of an operating arm 54, the rear end of which has swivel connection with a worm 55 provided with an operating hand wheel 56 wherebythe operating arm 54 may be drawn toward-or moved away from the aviators seat as desired. Movement of the operating arm toward the aviators seat causes a simultaneous downward movement of the main and auxiliary elevator planes and because of the-difference in lengths of the arms 47 and 48, the auxiliary plane 51 moves at a greater speed than the main elevator plane 50, and

` accordingly, varies its effective angle with vrelation thereto, thereby varying the relative camber of these sections and accordingly the lifting power exerted thereby.

A tail is provided composed of substantially rectangular, horizontally disposed supporting sections -57 which have their forward ends spaced and the adjacent portions thereof pivotally connected to the frame, as at 58; The forward edges of these planes are likewise connected with the frame by a link structurev59 which permitsV of rotation ofthe supporting sections 57 about the pivots 58. These supporting sections 57 normally diverge rearwardly and eachv have pivotallyconnected to the inner or adjacent edges thereof a substantially triangular supporting section 60,the inner or adjacent edges of the triangular sections being pivotally connected, as at 61. An examination of the drawings will show that in event of pivotal movement of the sections 57 so that the rear ends thereof are separated, the

section 60 flattens downwardly, increasing the effective supporting area of the tail. Means are provided for moving the section 60 into adjusted position, comprising links tion 60 adjacent the pivot point thereof,

said links having their inner ends pivotally secured to the free ends of levers 63 supported by the frame. Means are provided for simultaneously moving the levers 63, consisting of a cross bar 64 (Fig. 2) connecting the levers and to which is connected one end of a link 65 having its opposite end connected to one end of an operating lever 66 positioned adjacent the aviators seat. It will be seen that by operating the lever 66, the central portions of the tail 60 may be moved upwardly or downwardly as desired, thereby moving the side sections inwardly and decreasing the longitudinal supporting area of the tail. The sections 57 of the tail may be further supported by brace links 67 extending intermediate the frame and the under surfaces of the sections 57 and pivotally connected with the frame.

4X vertically disposed rudder 68 is provided which is operable through a segment 69 and link 70 by an operating lever r1 positioned adjacent the aviators seat.

The upper surface of the plane is preferably covered byan arched surface 72 aording a wind tunnel from which the air as it emerges impinges against thefaces of the triangular central sections 60 tending to depress the rear end of the machine.

From the foregoing it will be obvious that I have provided a plane wherein the e'ective supporting area of the wings and tail may be readily altered as'desired; and it will likewise be obvious that the construction of the same as hereinbefore set forth is capable of some change without departing from the spirit of my invention. I, accordingly, do not limit myself to the construction as hereinbefore set forth, except as so limited by the subjoined claims.

liVhat I claim is 1. In an aeroplane, a body frame, a sup- Aporting tailv structure connected with the ward'ends to said frame and aL second pair of pivotally connected supporting surfaces having their free ends pivotally connected with the adjacent edges of the supporting surfaces of the first named pair, andmeans for moving the rear ends of the first named pair toward a common center` whereby said pivotal connection of the second named pair is' shifted upwardly.

2. In an aeroplane, a body frame7 a supporting tail structure connected with the frame and means for adjustably altering the supporting effect of said tail structure, said tail structure embodying a pairof spaced, rearwardly diverging, Vsubstantially horizontal supporting surfaces pivotally connected'adjacent their inner edges at the forward ends thereof to said frame, a pair of substantially triangular, pivotally connected supporting surfaces disposed intermediate said rst named supporting surfaces and having their outer edges pivotally connected therewith and means for elevating the last named supporting surfaces surfaces shift toward a common Center. 10

In testimony whereof I hereunto afx my signature.

JOSEPH BALoN.- 

